Architecture & Engineering
Civil Engineers
Also called: City Engineer, Civil Engineer, County Engineer, Design Engineer
US median pay
$100,840
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+6.4%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
22,700
380,600 employed
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Preparation 4/5 · Considerable preparation
What this job is
Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems.
What they do day to day
- Direct engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations.
- Manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site.
- Inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.
- Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
- Plan and design transportation or hydraulic systems or structures, using computer-assisted design or drawing tools.
- Provide technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs.
- Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.
- Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.
- Estimate quantities and cost of materials, equipment, or labor to determine project feasibility.
- Prepare or present public reports on topics such as bid proposals, deeds, environmental impact statements, or property and right-of-way descriptions.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Complex Problem Solving3.9/5
- Time Management3.8/5
- Systems Analysis3.8/5
- Operations Analysis3.6/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.4/5
- Systems Evaluation3.1/5
- Coordination3.1/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.0/5
Knowledge
- Design4.7/5
- Engineering and Technology4.7/5
- Building and Construction4.5/5
- Mathematics4.5/5
- English Language4.0/5
- Physics3.7/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 4 of 5 — Considerable preparation. Usually a bachelor's degree and several years of related experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Bachelor's degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Bachelor's degree86%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.